Rolling Meadows mayor sworn in as senator

Surrounded by friends and family, Rolling Meadows Mayor Tom Rooney officially began the next phase of his political life Thursday night when he was sworn in as the next senator for Illinois' 27th District.

Rooney, 48, was chosen from a field of six prominent Northwest suburban Republicans to fill the Senate seat left open by the Sept. 15 resignation of Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican who recently began working with Mac Strategies Group, a public affairs and lobbying firm.

Rooney's wife, Sue, held a 1952 family bible for Rooney to place his hand on for the ceremony, and then Rooney spoke about the heartfelt support of his sons Brian, 23, and Chris, 26, and his first wife, Colleen, who died of a brain tumor in 2005.

Rooney was elected to his second term as mayor last year. Because of city term limits, it would have been his last. He indicated previously that he would resign the post after he begins serving in Springfield.

The 27th Senate District includes parts of Palatine, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights, Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows and Inverness.